Edge Preview: LittleBigPlanet

Edge writes: LittleBigPlanet is now fundamentally complete, in pre-alpha bug-testing and due for a closed beta trial in early summer for some final tweaking. After that, the real work begins – ours. That might seem glib, even a little like an advertising line (something similar will doubtless market the title) but it's fundamental to any assessment of the game that hopes to play bridesmaid to the next level of user-generated content on home consoles.

In fact, previewing LBP might be considered an exercise in futility – it's a game that can only be accurately assessed months (if not years) after release, rather than months before completion.

LBP has always looked like knockabout fun. But the clearer the structure being built around it becomes, and the commitment of Media Molecule and SCE to redefining how a console can work with user-generated content grows, the more obvious it is that LBP has the potential to become something remarkable. At the very least, LBP will be a novelty that is continually freshened. At its very best, it could set a new standard for involving a community in a game – and see an overdue return for Sony to the frontlines of videogame innovation.